Washington State is in the process of considering a number of bills that would provide public financing for elections - everything from Governor Christine Gregoire's bill to provide full public financing in the Clean Elections model to judicial candidates, to state Rep. Joe McDermott's (D) bill to make counties and municipalities eligible to set up similar public financing systems.

Seattle used to have a partial public financing system that combined spending limits with matches for small-dollar contributions. The city's former mayor, Norm Rice (the only African-American ever to hold the position) credits public financing with contributing to his victory in the 1989 election. He's not alone in praising the virtues of public financing -- the article quotes City Council member Jan Drago, who ran with public financing when it was available, on the diminished outreach to constituents now that public financing is not an option: "It's different. My last campaign (in 2005), I raised $250,000, but I spent an immense amount of time on the telephone, because it was easier to raise big dollars on the telephone than it was doing events."

The public financing program was eliminated in 1992, and McDermott's bill would make it possible for similar systems - including Clean Elections full public financing systems - to be established around the state.